Hide and Seek
by mmok
Summary: Vampire/Hunter AU. "I don't believe in forever's, nor do I believe in never's. So by the time that you're already gone, I will find you." One-shot.


The cell was dark.

Everything around him was dark.

He could feel the oldness of the space that he was in, hanging deadly on the air like a requiem.

He could hear crawling, and his eyes narrowed reflexively and his body tightened up in caution.

Reflexively.

Everything was dark around him, but two orbs of emerald held him in place.

They were a bright green, that did not belong to inanimate things, because he could see the amusement and curiosity in them, but also not human, because he could see the shadows of age lurking around them.

He did not move from his place.

The green eyes never left him, nor did he feel the urge of looking at anything else.

"A human... A different human... Bah. They all look the same to me." The voice was highly accented, but still understandable.

He began to move closer.

He didn't know why, but he didn't feel any danger oozing out from the creature.

Not even an ounce of thirst aimed at him, not even an ounce of bloodlust he aimed.

The creature intrigued him.

"How long." It was not a question. A statement. Because he didn't question. It was pointless.

The other seemed to have caught on his words, although he still couldn't see his appearance.

It didn't bother him though.

The other didn't seem bothered either.

"A short time. But many years for your kind."

"That's fucking accurate." A laugh filled in the darkness of the cell.

Not a very amused laugh, nor a very sad laugh.

It was a laugh.

"Sharp tongue. But I must say, you're intriguing." What a coincidence.

They thought the same about each other.

He didn't know if the idea appealed to him as much.

"Elaborate." He could almost see the other tap his chin in thought.

Almost.

He couldn't see.

Only green and black.

"Hm... Your smell... Similar yet so different. Intriguing indeed."

"You're doing this on purpose." His left brow twitched in irritation.

He had never been one keen to patience.

"Certainly not. It's just who I am." The other didn't seem offended.

He didn't care anyway.

"Can't see you."

"Why would you want to see me?" Amusement danced on the other's tongue.

He didn't want to see him, but the temptation was there.

Not that he would care anyway. He didn't care about anything.

It was just who he was.

"You're intriguing."

"You stole my line."

"I said it first, you shitty brat."

"... I'm pretty sure that I'm older than you, and how could have you said it first, if I didn't hear it?" The amusement was still there, and it ticked him off more than anything.

"You're a brat to me. And I've said it. In my head."

"Now that's fucking accurate." Chuckle resounded out from the other's lips that he could not see.

"You stole my line."

"And you, mine. We're even."

.

.

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Brown hair. Unkept brown hair.

Tan skin.

Glowing emerald eyes.

Smirk with canines pointing out.

The creature looked mostly human, but he wasn't.

Didn't feel like it.

Much deadlier than humans, much purer than humans.

Contradicting much.

"You look like a brat."

"And you... look human... but different."

"We're not having this conversation again." His words were final.

The other chuckled, and complied. They always did.

"No. No we're not. Hm... Your name." His long finger pointed at him, eyes expectant and lips pulled in a permanent mysterious leer.

"You don't need to know."

"No. No I don't. But you're intriguing."

"Such a shitty reason." He rolled his gray eyes at the vampire.

"Guess so. But then again, aren't we all born with a 'shitty reason'?"

"Hm... That's the most accurate thing that you've ever said."

"We've only met twice, Rivaille." Diversion lurked around the vampire, but said man's look turned more cautious.

"I didn't tell you my name."

"No. No you didn't."

"You know my name."

"Yes. Yes I do." The other seemed amused by all this, foot playfully clanking the cement beneath it in a slow rhythm.

"I don't kno-"

"Eren." Fondness flashed by those green eyes, before disappearing, and the ever present agreeable humor came back.

"I didn't ask."

"You never do."

"We've only met twice, Eren."

"I know. I know." The small pause that between the two lines caught his attention.

Eren knew much more.

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.

A sigh escaped his mouth, as he impaled the cross through the vampire's chest.

Blood spilled out, the creature's face morphing into pain, before settling in empty blissfulness.

His eyes never left the body in front of him, watching with careful eyes, as it turned into ashes.

His expression never changed, but not the same could be said about his hands.

They were trembling.

With anticipation.

Bad anticipation.

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"One day, I'll have to kill you." The words sounded more expressive than he intended.

Green eyes peered away from the old book, regarding him without panic or an ounce of caution.

"One day. But not today."

"I know."

"You always know."

His steel eyes closed to meet with darkness, but the other's presence still lingered in his mind.

"I always know."

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.

.

Why haven't him killed Eren yet?

That was the question that plagued in his mind, every time that he descended the stone stairs leading to the dark cell.

He didn't even realize, that he just questioned.

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"Tell me a reason, as to why I haven't killed you yet." Eren looked at him with amusement.

"My, my. You just questioned." Seconds ticked by, and neither of them said a word.

By the time of the fifth second, Eren's grin had widened in triumph and Rivaille just realized what he did.

"I did..."

"It's surprising, but not unexpected. Humans always break their promises after all." His words sounded bitter, but his eyes were sweet. Painfully so.

"You still haven't answered."

"Hm... Because I intrigue you."

"You intrigue me." He repeated.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"That's enough."

"No. More than enough."

More than enough.

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Eren waited patiently for the human.

It has become a routine.

After the third came to the afternoon, he would always hear footsteps descending and getting closer.

Then, he would always avert his eyes to something else, not letting the other the smugness of knowing that he was waiting for him.

He would most often, grab a random book lying around.

Then, he would read a few lines, but his eyes never left gray, and he knew. That those gray eyes knew far too much.

This little routine slowly became a part of his life as the time passed by.

Probably already three years, but he hadn't changed a bit, since the day that he was awakened.

Nor did Rivaille, he seemed as youthful as ever, and if he didn't get it wrong, he was 26 now.

Time was different for them and humans.

One passed by a flash, the other not so much.

So he wondered, when would Rivaille finally leave, when he was no more a source of entertainment.

But it didn't stop him of being intrigued by the peculiar human.

It never did.

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"Why do you live, Rivaille?" The other man looked at him with his apathetic look, but he could see the quizzical light behind it.

He didn't know when did he become able of distinguishing between his various faces.

"Too many have died before me."

"That's a weak and sad way to live."

"I prefer not to ignore and forget my comrades' death, to move on." Shadows danced in his eyes. Guilt. Regret. Rage.

"It will lead you to nothing."

"You don't know." His voice higher and lower.

"No. I do."

"Elaborate."

"Don't need to. Just look at me."

Gray eyes lifted from the ground, and looked at the vampire.

His green orbs glowed much stronger than before, but everything else looked weak.

"How?" He shouldn't ask. Not his business. But he did anyways.

"It's a long story."

"It's a long life. Now explain." He had already resigned to the fact, that he would always question when Eren was present.

He had already resigned to it, but still haven't forgot his principles.

Once he questioned, he wanted answers.

No matter what.

And that's why, did a sigh of defeat come out of the other's lips, and a mild annoyed look took over his features.

Eren knew him far too well.

The green orbs stared at him but not exactly.

The stare was distant, if not a bit melancholic.

"311 years ago. Vampires killed my mother. Was just ten back then, but my rage is far greater than now. I enlisted in the Hunters' Association, and became an official at 12." How strange. He was once a hunter, like him.

"First mission came, and I was never one of good luck. A pureblood appeared before us, and in a second, had already wiped out everyone clean."

"He didn't attack you." A snort of displeasure came out from Eren's lips.

"No. No he didn't. Wanted to save me for last, but I didn't know that. Rage had overtook me. The desire of revenge cold to my eyes, yet burning in my time I came, he was dead and turning into ashes, and I was shocked, with blood all over me. There was a little inconsistency though. My nails were sharper, and I could see night better than before." Sad eyes lifted to the ceiling, longing filling him as his hand reached out for his sky.

A cold, dark and little sky.

"I tried to hide it. Continued being a hunter and killed many vampires with my enhanced strength and speed. I felt... invigorated." His smile turned mocking."But of course, it was short-lived. I awakened, and killed , comrades and my dear sister. Everyone. Since then, I've locked up myself in this cell. It had been 300 years now..."

Rivaille listened to the whole story silently, only throwing in the first comment out of curiosity and slight worry. His expression remained the same as ever, his opinions and views didn't change, and Eren was still the same for him.

How strange. After hearing that, he almost expected a degree of caution and wary wash over him.

Pureblood's were far more dangerous than your average vampire.

But it didn't happen.

Because he wasn't like that.

He was him.

And Eren was still Eren.

Three years of meeting could do many to anyone.

A hand stretched out awkwardly from its place, and hesitantly settled on the other's head, rubbing it a little before pulling back.

"You've had a rough time, brat. You did well."

That was the first time, that they came into contact with each other, and also the first time that he saw surprise in those green eyes.

"Hm... But I wonder about one thing..."

"Go on."

"Does it make me your superior in a way?" A cheeky grin stretched across Eren's pale face. The most carefree that he had ever seen.

"Don't get shitty with me."

"Of course not."

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.

.

"Alluring..."

"What is it."

"Your scent." Eren licked his lips.

"Shit. You must be fucking me. Last thing I need, is some brat vampire to kill me because he doesn't know how to control himself."

"Don't be a prick, Rivaille. I'm a vampire. You humans are what we consider source of alimentation."

"All the reason more for me to think at really killing you now." A loud laugh sounded out.

"But you won't."

"Hm. Tell me a good reason as to why not." His lips pulled up in a knowing smirk, one that he did not like, and one that said that Eren was right.

He hated when the vampire did that.

"Because I won't kill Rivaille."

"You just said that my scent attracted you."

"True. But alluring and feeding is different."

"You will convince me." He said with a slump of defeat.

"I will, because one is need of survival, while the other is desire." Levi's brows creased.

"Funny. You implied that I attracted you."

"That's because you do." The revelation didn't come as a shock to him.

He wonders why.

"You're saying that you have feelings for me."

"I am a vampire, but once a human." He said with finality.

"You don't know what you're saying."

"Au contraire, cher Rivaille. I know very well what I'm saying."

"You'll regret this." His fists trembled next to him. Temptation almost took him over, but he refrained himself.

For his good. For Eren's good.

"Regret is for those who don't know. I know, and I'm sure."

That was enough.

He gave in, and pulled the vampire closer to him.

He sealed their lips together briefly, before resting their foreheads together.

The bars that separated them, looked almost inexistent.

"Then you'll be mine, and only mine." A rare soft smile appeared on the other's face, their skin still connected.

"Have been for a long time, Rivaille."

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.

.

"How long have you not eaten?"

"Hm... Since I've awakened." Rivaille's eyes narrowed reflexively before going back to apathy. A worried apathy.

"That's... a long time."

"Yes. But Pureblood's can go on five hundred years without blood. So by the time that I really need to go out of the cell, you will be already gone."

"You don't look much sad." He said, somewhat annoyed.

"I don't believe in forever's, nor do I believe in never's. So by the time that you're already gone, I will find you."

He nodded content, and came closer to the vampire, stopping just before the rusty bars.

Bars that could be broken by a swift sharp kick, but they were still there.

"Drink." He extended his arm out for the other, who looked at him with critical emerald.

"I may lose control. It's my first time after all."

"It appeals me more, knowing that I was your first, than some other useless guy." He rolled his eyes.

"How do you know that it will be an useless guy?"

"Simple. You're fundamentally a good guy." Emerald eyes widened for a second, before a gentle smile rose to his lips.

"Hm. Fair enough. It's your win this time, Rivaille." Eren came closer, and took his arm with a tender touch, that he didn't think that the other was capable of.

"It was never a game."

"No. But winning and losing is some of the few common things between our species." He could feel Eren's breath on his skin, his teeth grinding through it softly.

"Then we're more common than I thought, because desire is also one of the few things." Eren lifted his head at that.

"You don't like it?"

"Au contraire, cher Eren. It's refreshing and welcoming." He lifted the other's chin, as he placed a chaste kiss just beside his lips.

Eren only smiled at him, before going back to his arm.

He saw the carving in his eyes, and he wasn't one to deprive him from his needs.

A dull pain came afterwards, as Eren sucked onto his skin.

He wondered at how he tasted, for Eren dizzying him in such a short span of time.

Moments that seemed minutes passed, and the vampire pulled back.

Rivaille readjusted his shirt, before slumping down to an used chair near him.

"Sorry." His unfocused eyes caught sight of a guilty vampire drenched in blood, looking at him apologetically.

"It was better than I expected. How did I taste by the way." A mischievous grin replaced the other's frown, licking his lips with undisguised gusto.

"Delicious. Ambrosial. Exquisite. Nectarous. You choose."

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"One more time." Rivaille rolled his eyes, but complied with the vampire's wish.

He got closer to Eren, who had already closed his eyes, waiting expectantly for him, and in a matter of a second, placed his lips over his.

They roamed each other's skin for a few seconds, before pulling away.

"One more time." Eren had a gentle smile plastered on him.

He did that a lot around him, but Rivaille knew that it was rare.

The slight awkward twitches and moments of hesitation proved it to him.

Somehow, their fingers found each other, settling in a loose tangled mess, as they met again.

"One more time." Eren said, as they rested their foreheads together.

"You want too much, brat." His words held no malice, only a slight amusement and playfulness that he didn't know he had.

"Hm. But Rivaille would listen."

"You're too full of yourself."

"No. I'm too full of you."

"Hm. You sure have a strange way with words." He commented, after giving Eren a chaste kiss.

"If not, I wouldn't have intrigued you."

"No. You, yourself intrigue me."

"You just stole the words from my mouth."

"And you, my self." Eren pulled away from their contact and regarded the other with an unimpressed look.

"Seriously?" By ways that he didn't know, Rivaille must have found the situation very comical as he stifled his chuckles with a wide smile.

It made him look younger... and uncharacteristically carefree.

"Seriously."

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.

.

It was when he accidentally stumbled in when Eren changing clothes, that he saw it.

The thin, but noticeable scar, that ran around his throat like a tight necklace.

His fingers ran the entirety of the scar, have never seen it before because Eren always wore high collar shirts.

"Hm... Who did this?"

"I heard that a pureblood's weakness was the neck. They were wrong." Rivaille didn't say anything, when he looked into regretful glowing eyes. Killing a pureblood was a complicated process. Couldn't be done with just one person, and he was more than glad for the hassle that it gave.

"May I remind you that you're mine, Eren." He pulled the other closer for a quick, deep kiss. "So don't go and harm yourself."

"I haven't. Since I met Rivaille, I stopped."

"Good, then." He unwrapped the red scarf that he had brought with himself today, and enfolded it around the other's neck, with more tenderness that he could muster.

It was when he felt warm droplets on his hand, that he stopped on his actions, and regarded the other worriedly.

"Sorry... That reminded me of my sister." Rivaille nodded understandably, and resumed his previous actions.

"You don't need to apologize. Your sister is important, so don't hold back." The vampire only wrapped his arms around him, burying his head as close as possible due to the bars.

"I know. I know." The small pause that between the two lines caught his attention.

Eren knew much more.

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"Shit." Holding the blade in a reverse grip, Rivaille slew the creature with deep fangs.

He breathed out broken sighs, as his hand clutched his neck painfully.

"Fuck. And it had to have some shitty poison." Black spots jittered around his vision in a slow pace, the silence and lethargy alluring him to sleep.

No one was near him, and he could feel his body giving in.

"Such a bitchy way of dying." He let out a nonchalant chuckle.

He felt his eyes closing, but the image of green snapped them wide open.

With a painful grunt, he got up to his feet.

His body weighed tons, but he didn't have the mind to think about it now.

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It was the fifth of the afternoon, and Eren waited patiently for Rivaille to arrive.

The man was a bit late today, but it was okay.

Rivaille always came.

He may be human and have broken a lot of promises, but the promises that he held and carried, were much greater than the few lies that he said.

He unconsciously smiled, when the heat of the scarf warmed him up from the coldness of the cell.

He was quite fond of the smell too.

It smelled like a certain human with piercing gray eyes.

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The Hunter's base, and the place where Eren was were in complete different directions.

His breath was ragged, his footsteps tripping over themselves once in a while, when dizziness took him over.

He probably should have gone the other way.

But it was maybe his years of experience talking, or maybe the fact that he wanted to see the other as quickly as possible, but he knew that even if he went back, he wouldn't make it.

He knew his body better than anyone, and knew that he was only up by sheer will.

The place came into view, and so did the small droplets of snow began to fall.

White surrounded him in no time, and Rivaille quickened his pace.

"Such a shitty day. Argh. Someone up there must hate me." He didn't realize the single droplet of crystalline water that fell unforgivingly, blending in with the flocks of white.

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When Rivaille finally managed to reach the cell, it was to see Eren sleeping soundly on the ground, clutching the scarf tight with his right hand.

"Tch. Brat." His strength failed him, and he promptly fell down.

His back was against the rusty bars, somehow, the other's deep breathing comforting him in a way that no medicine could do.

His vision turned pitch black, but he was still conscious.

He couldn't leave yet.

"Rivaille?" Eren's sleepy voice relaxed his battled form.

"Rivaille?! You're covered in blood! You... I... Hurry! Help!" Eren's unfamiliar worried voice made his insides warm up.

"Brat. Shut the fuck up." Eren quieted down, but he could hear his broken breaths.

Eren had always been quite smart.

"Good. Now give me your hand."

"Rivaille... I-"

"Hand." He cut the other off.

He didn't know how much time he had left, so he needed the other's contact as long as possible.

Rivaille intertwined their fingers tightly, their arms going over different sides of the bars.

"Rivaille. You need help. Not me."

"Brat... Shut up. Just... Stay with me... Please." Never in the short yet long six years that they've known each other, had Eren heard Rivaille plead or beg.

He couldn't say that he was the least happy about it right now.

They stayed like that for a few minutes in silence.

Eren tightened desperately his hold on the hand that was becoming colder and colder by the second.

"Rivaille? Are you happy?" His head lifted up towards the ceiling, an action that he always did, when he longed and thought about impossible matters.

"I feel like shit..." His voice was broken, and clenched his frozen heart with a hard squeeze.

"But I don't feel bad... maybe happy."

"Do you love me?"

"I fucking hate you." He let out a small chuckle, when the other didn't hesitate to answer.

His voice was more secure and higher than before, just like the usual him.

"Aw. But I love you."

"...Tch. Don't turn into such a sap now."

"You're always like this, stupid Rivaille. I actually think that you have a bipolar disorder."

"Hm..."

"Sometimes you're sweet, and caring, then you turn into some sadistic prick just because I'm not clean enough."

"Hm..."

"You actually quite resemble my sister. She always fought with me and had always a permanent frown, and she also enjoyed seeing people in pain..."

"Hm..."

"But I knew that she cared for me. She protected me many times, when I got in trouble trying to prove myself of worth. Haha. I was such an immature kid back then..."

"Hm..."

"And don't even begin telling me that I'm still an immature kid, because I'm pretty sure that I'm older than you. Way older."

"Hm..."

"Ah. I still remember the first time that you touched my head. You had become so disgusted, that the next day you came with a tub and hot water. And even new clothes, although they were a bit too small."

"Hm..."

"And-

"Eren." The vampire swallowed the hurting lump in his throat.

"Yes?" He tried his best to sound casual, that he knew that everything was going to turn out fine.

But Rivaille knew much more than him. He always did.

"...I love you."

"..."

"Don't... Don't interrupt me, you idiot. I was going to tell you the time when I was waiting for you, and wanted to appear that I didn't care much by reading a book. Haha. The book was held backwards."

"..."

"And I still remember that time, when I called you shorty and you hit me on the head. Hard. I can still feel the afterpain even now." He recalled the memories with a fond smile, just for it to turn into a frown, when the other just won't respond.

"..."

"Oy. Are you listening, Rivaille?" He tried to shook the other's body, but it only fell down to the ground with a thud.

"Right... Of course you're not... You have always been keen of ignoring me, whenever I said shorty." He tightened the loose hold of their hands, but the coldness didn't go away and what shouldn't go away, already went.

He didn't leave his eyes from the ceiling, as he let fresh tears to roll down his face and hit their fingers repeatedly.

...

...

"Don't say those words... like you're saying goodbye... It's _fucking _wrong." He still didn't move from his position, and remained like that for an undetermined amount of time.

_"I don't believe in forever's, nor do I believe in never's. So by the time that you're already gone, I will find you."_

"It's see you later, you stupid idiot human."

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Erwin shut his eyes in mourning, when he saw the corpse of the one whom he once called, a comrade.

Blood covered his whole body in a crimson paint, but his expression was peaceful, almost like he was just slumbering and would wake up soon.

"Sir. The time of death is roughly two days ago, and the cause of death is most likely by poisoning." Hanji stayed professional through all, but Erwin knew that she was hurting as much as him.

Bonds had always been a difficult subject in their line of work.

"I see... Was he alone?"

"Hm... Yes. He was found alone by a pair of patrolling watchers, but there are signs, that the bars of this cell were broken just recently."

"I see... Hanji, make the preparations for a funeral."

"Sir. Our budget is-"

"Use my personal account. It's the least the we can do. For Rivaille." Hanji took a moment for contemplation, before nodding resolutely.

"For Rivaille."

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Too many years have passed.

Too many springs he saw.

Too much snow he saw.

When was he going to find him?

Times have changed.

Vampires became almost inexistent, and they were considered myths now. Part of the matters created by the mind and imagination of them, humans.

How foolishly conceited.

But then again, he was once a human too.

An ambitious, ignorant human who only thought about his priorities.

It was needed for those dear to him to die, by his hands nonetheless, for him to wake up from his delusion and saw the cold hard reality.

Humanity has progressed, and now they were entering the age of high technology and machinery.

He would give them the benefit of advancement.

They may be foolish, but that foolishness served as their strength.

Too many people he saw.

Too many people he met, and too many have died.

Vampires and humans alike.

He wondered when would he find that intriguing human again.

His hope was diminishing by each passing year, and doubt began to consume him, but he didn't give up.

He wasn't human anymore.

The world was larger than a few rusty bars, and darker than black itself.

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.

White covered the entirety of the park, white flocks descended slowly from the sky and covered the trees and ground with cold, soothing snow.

Innocence filled gray eyes surveyed his work with satisfaction and accomplishment, his hands red from coldness.

But he couldn't care less.

Despite his young age, he knew that everything came with a price, and if building a snowman, his hands would lose their warmth, then so be it.

"You'll get a cold you now, little brat."

He turned his head, and glared (pouted) at the stranger.

He had a young face, and emerald eyes that looked so intimate but he couldn't quite place how.

"I'm not a brat, you shitty old man.

Just so you know, I'm already 8." He crossed his arms in emphasis.

"Sharp tongue. Still as intriguing as ever, aren't you." The stranger smiled at him, and he knows that he had already heard those words before, in the same sentence.

But when?

"What is your name, little brat." He snorted at him.

"You don't need to know." The stranger only smiled at him.

"No. No I don't. But you intrigue me."

"That's a shitty reason." The stranger laughed. But didn't sound like it.

"All happens for a shitty reason." He smirked.

He must admit, despite being more naggier than needed, the other's presence wasn't undesired.

He intrigued him.

"Levi." The stranger grinned.

"Eren. But you can call me anything you want, Rivaille."

"My name is Levi. Not Rivaille." Rivaille. Another familiar word, but so distant too.

How strange.

"And that's why you can call me anything you want. It's a fair trade."

"Hm... then, brat. You'll be brat." To his disbelief, the stranger grinned wider at that.

"Good." The Eren brat kneeled down, and wrapped a red scarf around his neck.

This scarf... He had seen it before...

No... He had given it to someone before... Who was it again...

"You have a big scar. Didn't I tell you to not hurt yourself anymore?"

He didn't even realize his own words, but Eren did.

His emerald eyes shone much brighter than the white snow of that day.

"I didn't. I just tripped sometimes, when I was searching for someone."

"Hm. I'll keep the scarf by the way.

I... like it."

"Always return what was lent to you. So it's ok." Levi ignored his words, a feeling of anticipation seeping into him, and his gray eyes snapped towards the public clock of the park and noted that it was almost three in the afternoon.

"Shit. I have to go. Ervin will kill me if I go back late. Shitty curfew.

Goodbye then, Eren." And he was gone, not sparing another glance back to the intriguing man.

The vampire waved at the retreating figure, his smile widening, when he realized the error again.

"It's see you later, Rivaille."

* * *

**Disclaimer: Don't own Shingeki. Tried a different approach from my usual writing style.**

**Thanks for reading.**


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